Senate President Alan Cayetano and Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla locked horns over the arrest of Senator Jinggoy Estrada inside the Senate premises on Monday, which the former attempted unsuccessfully to oppose following fierce resistance from the Cabinet official.
Remulla arrived at the Senate, along with members of the Philippine National Police–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, to serve a Sandiganbayan warrant against Estrada for non-bailable plunder charges linked to the flood-control kickback scheme. The warrant was issued earlier that day.
However, Cayetano refused to surrender Estrada to the authorities, saying the arrest must be carried out outside the Senate building out of respect to the institution.
The Senate leader argued that no arrests had been made in the Senate during previous Congresses, even during the administration of the late Corazon Aquino.
“Don’t do this right here. He can be arrested right there (gate). Sir, we’re just gonna walk [for] five minutes. This is the Senate of the Philippines. It’s never been done,” Cayetano told Remulla.
Contrary to this, former senators Leila de Lima and Sonny Trillanes were arrested at the Senate for drug-related and rebellion charges, respectively, in 2017 and 2018.
Remulla, however, pushed away Estarada with his hand. “Sir, sir, sir!” Remulla shouted at Cayetano as he cut him off. “The last person you took into custody escaped. You cannot do that.”
Remulla was pertaining to Senator Bato de la Rosa, who also sought refuge in the Senate to evade an ICC warrant. He managed to “escape”, however, shortly after the 13 May gunfire incident broke out. Critics have suspected that the incident was “staged” to allow De la Rosa to leave the Senate building amid pressure from his peers to surrender to authorities.
Cayetano and Remulla exchanged a few words before an officer of the CIDG read the Miranda rights to Estrada.
Afterward, Remulla escorted Estrada out of the elevator as the lawmaker had scheduled a short briefing with the media before his surrender. Estrada was accompanied by his other allies in the majority, including Senators Rodante Marcoleta, Imee Marcos, Robin Padilla, and Mark and Camille Villar.
Estrada was emotional before he entered the briefing room. He was immediately turned over to PNP headquarters at Camp Crame for booking before he was transferred to the Sandiganbayan. He is currently detained at the Quezon City Jail in Payatas.
His co-accused, former DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan, also voluntarily surrendered to the Sandiganbayan, although he was not detained yet after being hospitalized for hypertension.
Estrada and Bonoan were charged with graft and plunder, along with three others, for allegedly receiving millions of kickbacks from flood control projects.
